We are so close to the festive season! There’s excitement bubbling in the air! Trees are being decorated, baubles are being hung, cards are being signed and posted, presents are being bought and wrapped. Cakes, cookies, shortbread, mince pies, are being baked. It’s a fun time!

It feels a bit mean to be talking about the effects of not drinking enough water in the celebration season when there’s champagne, eggnog, ginger-beer etc., to enjoy. I really don’t want to be the Grinch! Here’s how I see it – if I show you how a lack of water affects your health, you can be prepared. Preparation means you can really enjoy yourself and cause any damage to your system.

What Is The First Sign Of Dehydration?

When you’re thirsty? No. By the time you’re thirsty you are already dehydrated. It’s rather frightening, as many people are so busy that they stay thirsty for hours before they do something about it.

3 Reasons why dehydration is so bad for you

• Dehydration makes your skin thinner. This is great if you are Hugh Jackman or Henry Cavill, and you must look ripped for a shirtless movie scene. To achieve that well-chiselled look, they don’t drink for three days before shooting. Both of them say that by the time they step in front of the camera they’re suffering from a long-term headache. It probably explains why their characters are usually in a bad mood. These are men who each drink two or more litres of water a day. How much water do you drink every day? If it’s not at least one litre – not counting tea, coffee, alcohol, fruit juices, or sports drinks – you are permanently dehydrated.

• Dehydration makes you look older. A lack of water starves your skin. Plumper skin, thanks to consistently drinking water, makes you look younger. Stay dehydrated for too long and it may be irreversible. Do you want to look older than you are? If not, then you need to start drinking a minimum of two litres of water a day. Not water with something in it. Just water.

• Dehydration slows down your cognitive processes. But it’s not just your cognitive processes that suffer. Every cell in your body needs water to function correctly. Water is absolutely essential for good health. It’s essential for survival. Every system in your body, from your organs, and muscles to your blood and spine, including your body’s ability to heal, is impacted by the amount of water you consume. If you’re staying hydrated by drinking enough water every day you’ll think better, see better, feel better, perform better, be sharper, more positive, heal quicker, and be more creative. You’ll also be happier. Don’t you want that kind of life? If you’re not drinking enough, the reverse will be true, and you can wave goodbye to operating at your highest potential. Dehydration can have profound consequences – including back pain.

Does It Really Matter If It’s Not Water?

Yes. It does. Does your petrol car run at its best on dirty fuel? No. neither does your body. And to your body anything but water is dirty.

3 Types of drinks that dehydrate you.

• Sports drinks. If there is one drink you should avoid at all costs, it is sports drinks. They are so acidic you may as well be drinking battery acid. They will destroy your teeth. They are also a diuretic! Nothing hydrates you better than water.

• Alcohol. Alcohol of any type is a diuretic. It makes you need the toilet more often. Drinking more alcohol just makes it worse. Drinking one glass of water for every alcoholic drink will keep you hydrated and shorten your hangover period. And red wine stains your teeth terribly, leaving them looking sad and grey. Not a good Christmas look!

• Caffeinated drinks. There is nothing wrong with a good ‘cuppa’ or a coffee, but, if that’s all you’re drinking you are permanently dehydrated and that’s not good. Caffeinated drinks include tea, coffee, alcohol, sports drinks, and fizzy drinks. Too many of them and you develop a condition called ‘dry mouth’ and that’s bad. There’s another thing to consider; unlike caffeinated drinks, water doesn’t stain your teeth. Imagine the dentist bills you’ll save if you just drink water!

• Fruit juices and fizzy drinks. Sugary drinks prevent your body from absorbing water.

Tell Me More About How Dehydration And My Spine!

Between each one of your vertebrae is a cushion called a disc. This disc is made of a jelly-like substance. They have a strong outer fibrous ring and a softer, gelatinous centre known as the nucleus pulposus. It’s mostly made of water. This is what provides the cushioning, shock absorption, and mobility for your spine. Without well-hydrated discs your spine struggles to hold the weight of your body, putting even more pressure on each disc. Dehydration reduces the amount of water within each of these cushions. The less water, the more prone your spine is to damage.

Day-to-day activity puts your spine and discs under pressure and just like in a jam doughnut, the water in the discs leaks out. If you’re not drinking enough water, these discs can’t rehydrate, and they will shrink. They could also swell, and the result could be a herniated disc.

If you are struggling with occasionally flaring neck, back, or leg pain you really should be drinking more water. Most people don’t drink enough water. So, start now. Each day, drink three glass more water than you currently do. Add one more glass each week until you are drinking two litres of water a day. Two litres may sound like a lot and if it is, it will at least help you find the amount that best suits you and keeps you in an optimal hydrated state.

How can Chiropractic care help?

If you are struggling with back pain, a chiropractor can help you get to the cause. If it is a bone-related issue they can create a program of manipulations to put it right. There’s no need to suffer.

Call us today and make an appointment.

Yours in health,
Dr. Monica and Helen